By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Jaidaa Taha
CAIRO (Reuters) – Hamas’ armed wing said on Monday the group has been operating since June under new instructions on how to deal with hostages if Israeli forces approach their positions in Gaza.
The announcement comes days after the Israeli military retrieved the bodies of six hostages from a tunnel in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, saying they had been shot dead by their captors when Israeli forces approached.
Abu Ubaida, a spokesman for Hamas’ al-Qassam Brigades, did not give details of what the instructions were. He said his group holds Israel responsible for the hostage’s death.
The new instructions, Ubaida said, were given to hostage guards after a rescue operation by Israel in June. At the time, Israeli forces freed four hostages in a raid that killed dozens of Palestinians, including women and children.
“Netanyahu’s insistence on freeing prisoners through military pressure, instead of sealing a deal, means they will be returned to their families in shrouds. Their families will have to choose whether they want them dead or alive,” he said.
Later on Monday, Hamas’ armed wing released a pre-recorded video of one of the six dead hostages, urging Netanyahu to strike a deal to free them, saying she feared she could die in captivity. The date when the video was recorded was unclear.
Netanyahu told a news conference on Monday that the hostages had been shot in the back of the head, and vowed that Hamas would pay a heavy price.
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said Netanyahu’s accusations against Hamas were an attempt to escape responsibility for their deaths, adding that his threats against its leaders did not scare them.
“Netanyahu killed the six prisoners and he is determined to kill the remaining ones. Israelis should choose between Netanyahu or the deal,” Abu Zuhri said
Israel and Hamas have failed to reach an agreement that would end the war and ensure the release of Israeli and foreign hostages held in Gaza in exchange for many Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Hamas wants some deal to end the war and get Israeli forces out of Gaza, while Netanyahu says the war can only end when Hamas is defeated.
(Reporting by Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Jaida Taha. Additional reporting by Adam Makary; Editing by Mark Porter)